regarding the debt ceiling. is that something that republicans are willing to do here, or it must be linked? the two have to go hand in hand? >> reporter: they are insisting, and when i say they, i'm talking about house republicans and the senate republican leader, but they have to go hand in hand. this is something that we heard over and over and over again when we had this debate the last time, back in the summer of 2011. andion that ve ioion you know t suzanne. but the house speaker and his aides are telling us that they really mean it this time. that there has to be a dollar of spending cuts for every dollar that the u.s. agrees to raise the debt limit. and that they would even go for a two or three-month extension as they try to work on a more global discussion of cutting spending. but even if there's an extension, it has to go point by point. the other thing i want to mention, suzanne, which i thought was really interesting, after covering the white house under george bush, that last question about the fac